Isolation turns computers and smartphones into virtual shopping carts

El Corte Ingls also saw its online platform seeing a huge increase. According to the spokesman, in the case of food, the growth was exponential, which forces us to permanently reinforce the teams and, in all other segments, has already exceeded 500%. Even so, it says that it is meeting the delivery deadlines in practically all segments, but assumes that in the case of food there is less flexibility in the choice of days and delivery times. However, it guarantees total transparency in the process, keeping the customer informed from the moment they purchase, until receiving the order.

However, during the consultation of your website at the end of this article, your online platform, for supermarket sales, is not accepting appointments for the next 7 days, promising to improve the situation.

The company also offers a service called Click and Express for deliveries within two hours in Lisbon and Gaia Porto, which had an incredible explosion, with an increase of more than 15X. For undifferentiated products, the period is between 2-5 days.

El Corte Ingls offers the Click and Express service for deliveries within two hours in Lisbon and Gaia Porto, which had an incredible explosion, with an increase of more than 15X

Continente also changed its structure, noting that in order to focus more on home deliveries, it reduced the number of stores with the Click & Go service, temporarily only available on some large areas across the country. And to smooth the high volume of traffic on its website, the company suggests that customers also use the Continente application available for iOS and Android.

Continente reports that face-to-face payments have been suspended.

The carriers take responsibility for all deliveries, within the established deadlines. DPD stresses that due to the closure of several companies, not all deliveries are able to materialize, forcing a return to shippers. CTT reports that they are now fulfilling the service agreed with their customers.

Care to be taken between entities and customers against the coronavirus

SIBS has been encouraging payment through digital channels, such as MB Way, during a period when most banks temporarily raised the associated fees. At the level of deliveries, DPD reports that it has taken some measures to protect both customers and its employees when handling orders. The company is supplying disinfectant gel at its stations and individual dosers for its drivers, as well as masks and gloves. The company has abolished the subscription on optical scanners, drivers write down the recipient's name, always keeping a meter away from customers. Whoever pays for automatic payment terminals, the drivers do the respective cleaning after use.

CTT is also being very cautious in the context of pandemic risk mitigation initiatives, having created a Crisis Management Committee. The company drew up a plan to ensure the continuity of services, providing information and adequate support to all its employees, in addition to promoting measures to mitigate the main risks in presence. The stores only open between 9-13: 30, except those that are in commercial spaces and airports, which are governed by the respective time, including those that are permanently closed. All information about closed hours and establishments should be consulted on its official website.

Still with regard to security, CTT stores serve closed doors to minimize the presence of people in the store and their distance. Only those who will be served enter, says the company's spokesman to SAPO TEK. In attendance, employees can wear masks, gloves and have disinfectant gel. The company placed tapes signaling the safe distance between the employee and the customer, and protected the counters with an acrylic. On the ground, like DPD, CTT suspended the subscription system at the terminals and are adopting security procedures in order delivery. From our own experience, we witnessed that the courier entered the building and went up to the floor, but left the order at the elevator door, waiting for vocal confirmation of its collection.

CTT is prepared to reinforce its logistics in deliveries. But their services for contacting the public are now limited.

Internally, in CTT's largest buildings, in the main operational centers, the company is measuring employees' body temperature on a daily basis, reinforcing the shipment of individual disinfectant gel, as well as gloves and masks. It also seeks to adjust shift schedules to avoid overlapping employees. All the services that were possible were also placed in telework and in rotation for those who have to work on the premises.

In a partnership with Uber, CTT also extended the CTT Now service, to deliver up to two hours. To date, only the cities of Lisbon, Porto and Braga were included in the operations, now the service has been extended to locations where Uber is present, such as Coimbra, Aveiro, vora, in the Algarve and Funchal regions, available for distances up to 10 kilometers between the point of collection and delivery of orders. The service will be managed by the application of smartphones CTT Now, which the customer can follow the route of the Uber driver until its delivery, with the respective notification.

On the commercial surfaces side, Continente stopped collecting plastic bags in its recycling program. If in the previous order the customer had returned all the bags, in the next the amount will be credited to the Continente Card, as if he did. Your couriers leave orders at the door, not entering the premises. And payments on the spot were excluded, being only received exclusively by credit card, MB Way or PayPal. In the case of El Corte Ingls, physical contact with customers is also being avoided, as well as subscriptions, opting for the control of identity at a distance. Payments on delivery were also canceled. The company stresses that the entire order packaging process has been revised, with new hygiene and safety measures added.

El Corte Ingls reports that it has increased its team to respond to this moment, especially with the support of people who are usually attached to physical stores, which are many. Routes and cars also grew at the same rate.

The companies ensure that no jobs have been reduced during this peculiar period. In the case of DPD, only employees who applied for family assistance to stay at home with their children when schools closed that they were not working in a situation raised due to the vacation period.

On the side of large surfaces, there has been news that Pingo-Doce and LIDL are hiring more workers to meet demand. El Corte Ingls reports that it has increased its team to respond to this moment, especially with the support of people who are usually attached to physical stores, which are many. Routes and cars also grew at the same rate, referring to SAPO TEK.

Despite the substantial increase in the number of teams in the main supermarkets, there is a contrast with other large retailers. FNAC, for example, revealed that it will proceed with the simplified lay-off, provided by the government, for 91% of its 1,800 employees, in an announcement made today by the company in a statement, quoted by Dinheiro Vivo. The company still had seven stores operating with minimal services, but since the beginning of the week they have been closed. Since the 1st of April, the lay-off is valid, lasting one month, but being renewed if the imposed emergency conditions are maintained.

Advice for the population in isolation

With the change in behavior and consumption habits, SAPO TEK asked companies for some advice to help customers and users with more doubts.

DPD advises everyone to check that the websites where they make their purchases are trustworthy and reliable in order to guarantee their rights. They should also look for online stores that provide individual review systems, in order to verify that the supplier of that product or service is safe to prevent fraud or future problems. They should also pay special attention to their specifications and be informed about their rights: return periods, guarantees provided by the respective supplier.

CTT assumes responsibility for the critical role they play in maintaining vital communication and logistics chains for the Portuguese economy and society.

Finally, customers must analyze the delivery specifications, whether time, value and the respective options available. You should be informed if in case of return, the process is not time consuming and complex to carry out. These recommendations are also supported by El Corte Ingls, advising you to place orders in advance, in the case of food.

El Corte Ingls says it has increased its team to respond to this moment of greater demand.

CTT assumes responsibility for the critical role they play in maintaining vital communication and logistics chains for the Portuguese economy and society. The company is offering discounts on the price and offering special conditions on digital services to companies and customers until April 30, including free shipping on its website. It should be noted that the company, supported by the Ministry of Economy, provided the Create Online Stores service, so that SMEs can quickly and easily create their stores for online businesses.

The company also secured a partnership with the National Farmers Association to deliver medicines at home across the country, the next day, for all orders placed by 4 pm, by email or phone. Medicines that are temporarily unavailable at your pharmacy can then be delivered, avoiding a second shift. Citizens can check the availability of participating pharmacies on the website. Until April 30th, the delivery service has a value of 3 euros plus VAT.

General access to stores and services should be done with some additional caution, especially with regard to fraud, whether online or by email. The Treasury itself alerted citizens to phishing emails that are being sent to taxpayers.

In general, use and abuse the technology at your disposal to avoid leaving your home, but always pay attention to basic safety measures and be well informed before making purchases on platforms you do not know.